(Quote)Andrew-560653 said: You can run it from a cd or flash drive to try it without installing it and you can also dual b...

(Quote)Andrew-560653 said:

You can run it from a cd or flash drive to try it without installing it and you can also dual boot it with Windows. Ive done that with knoppix before by just running from the cd. Very good way to play with the os.

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I also came across something yesterday about being able to boot directly from an .iso file without having to burn a DVD. I didn't have time to read the details, but I have it bookmarked for later.

Does anyone have any experience or thoughts on using the same /home file system under different Linux distributions, specifically with regard to the (in)compatibility of the various configuration files in the home directory?

(Quote)Andrew-560653 said: Home. Im buying one from my coworkers husband. He works on servers for a living. So he has ...

(Quote)Andrew-560653 said:

Home. Im buying one from my coworkers husband. He works on servers for a living. So he has older ones just 1TB of storage.

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"Just" 1 TB?!!

(I still remember when entire data centers had low 10s of GB of storage -- if that -- which filled (and heated) an entire room. The concept of 1 TB of storage being smaller than the (paper) notepad in my shirt pocket is still mind boggling at times. Back them 256 KB (1/4 MB) of memory filled a 16"x16" circuti board; 1 GB would have come close to covering the entire surface of a football field!)

(Quote)Jerry-74383 said:
I also came across something yesterday about being able to boot directly from an .iso file witho...

(Quote)Jerry-74383 said:

I also came across something yesterday about being able to boot directly from an .iso file without having to burn a DVD. I didn't have time to read the details, but I have it bookmarked for later.

Does anyone have any experience or thoughts on using the same /home file system under different Linux distributions, specifically with regard to the (in)compatibility of the various configuration files in the home directory?

--hide--

on the ubuntu site there is a program you can d/l to create a bootable flash drive. It works great. I cant think of the name of the program though. I think its pendrive.

(I still remember when entire data centers had low 10s of GB of storage -- if that -- which filled (and heated) an entire room. The concept of 1 TB of storage being smaller than the (paper) notepad in my shirt pocket is still mind boggling at times. Back them 256 KB (1/4 MB) of memory filled a 16"x16" circuti board; 1 GB would have come close to covering the entire surface of a football field!)

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Hahaha I know. It is mind boggling on how much has changed in computers in the last 20 to 30 years. I reremember working in green screen and in dos. Actually I still do some still. My first computer I think was max 32mb haha our phones have 1000x more nowadays

I really, really wanted to use Linux at home so I could be Microsoft-free, at least at home, especially since Bill Gates is a huge contributor to Planned Parenthood. Every time I tried to do it, though, I just could not get to the goal. Even though I work in IT for a living, I did not want to become a Linux geek; I just wanted to be a Linux user. I had the impression that Linux just wasn't ready for prime time-- too much messing around with configuration files and the like. Right now I am using an 8-year-old XP computer I fixed after a friend discarded it. If things have changed, I am really interested.

(Quote)Andrew-290721 said: I really, really wanted to use Linux at home so I could be Microsoft-free, at least at home, especially...

(Quote)Andrew-290721 said: I really, really wanted to use Linux at home so I could be Microsoft-free, at least at home, especially since Bill Gates is a huge contributor to Planned Parenthood. Every time I tried to do it, though, I just could not get to the goal. Even though I work in IT for a living, I did not want to become a Linux geek; I just wanted to be a Linux user. I had the impression that Linux just wasn't ready for prime time-- too much messing around with configuration files and the like. Right now I am using an 8-year-old XP computer I fixed after a friend discarded it. If things have changed, I am really interested.

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I have a general familiarity with UNIX and have experimented with Linux several times in the distant past, but I'm not an expert or geek in that area by any means.

Last night I downloaded a Ubuntu desktop image from the Internet, burned it to CD, and booted it on my laptop with no configuration at all. Mozilla Firefox was pre-installed and the Internet connectivity worked without configuration. LibreOffice, a MS Office replacement, was also pre-installed.

After using it for a while I decided to install it, which was an equally painless process that required no manual configuration -- a vast difference from my previous experiences with Linux on a laptop. At some point you'll probably have to do some configuration, but at least with Ubuntu 13.04 you can get a basic desktop system up with very little effort.

There is a lot of very helpful information on obtaining, installing, and using Ubuntu available on-line. The same may be true for other packages as well, but I was in a hurry, so I went with what I found first.

If you have no experience at all with Linux, you may want to get a copy of Linux for Dummies and read some of the basics before you start. If you go this route, I would suggest getting the distribution the book is based on (there may be a bootable DVD packaged with the book) for simplicity. Once you get the hang of it you can install a different distribution later.

Several Notes:

Before you start, back up the data on your disk(s), even if you don't plan to use them on the Linux system.

After some previous bad experiences (long ago), I am paranoid about partitioning a disk with Windows already installed to dual-boot Linux. I bought a 1 TB USB 3.0 hard drive (Western Digital My Passport) for $79 (plus tax) at WalMart, primarily because I have an immediate need that requires some significant data storage. If you just want to play around for a while to familiarize yourself with Linux, you can probably get by with an 8 GB thumb drive, perhaps even 4 GB. If you splurge and go for 16 GB (about $15), you should have plenty of space to install software packages of interest. In either case, if you decide to scrap Linux you can reformat the drive as NTFS or FAT32 and us it under windows.

(Quote)Andrew-290721 said: I really, really wanted to use Linux at home so I could be Microsoft-free, at least at home

(Quote)Andrew-290721 said: I really, really wanted to use Linux at home so I could be Microsoft-free, at least at home

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I'll echo Jerry's thoughts regarding Ubuntu. I believe it was ready for the average end user about five years ago. That is, if your hardware is supported, which most is. I gave a Brown Bag session at work five years ago because of this belief. One lady took the plunge back then who had no experience with Linux and has never looked back. It worked well for her.

Another story ... Four years ago, my neighbor who runs a daycare out of her home, approached me and asked if I would like her old computer because it was giving her so much trouble that she bought a new computer. Instead of taking her computer for myself, I installed Ubuntu on it and gave it back to her for the children to use. I showed her how to update the software and how to log in. She has not approached me a single time to fix that computer and it has been running solidly for the children.

Run Ubuntu as a Live CD right off the CD-ROM just to be sure all of your hardware is supported. Surf the net. Even take the time to configure your mail, even though you'll have to do it all over again if you decide to install it. Know that it will run much more slowly from the CD-ROM, so don't make any judgements about speed at that point. I imagine you'll be quite surprised how speedy it is once you have installed it.

(Quote)Andrew-560653 said: You can run it from a cd or flash drive to try it without installing it and you can also dual b...

(Quote)Andrew-560653 said:

You can run it from a cd or flash drive to try it without installing it and you can also dual boot it with Windows. Ive done that with knoppix before by just running from the cd. Very good way to play with the os.

--hide--

Knoppix is my Swiss Army Knife that I use for helping others. When people have a computer that has crashed and even Windows won't recognize the hard drive to even do a fresh install, Knoppix has come to the rescue to recover data. I have used it to rebuild the Master Boot Record of hard drives. I have also used it to extend NTFS partitions safely.

Knoppix uses many Unstable and Experimental branch packages of Debian, so it recognizes a lot of newer hardware. Despite those opressive sounding names, Knoppix works great, but I only recommend using it as a bootable CD-ROM.